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Multiple-Meaning Words

A multiple-meaning word is spelled and said the same way but means different things: a bat flies at night, and you hit a ball with a bat. Context is the only clue, which is why these words are such good reading practice.

Here are 116 multiple-meaning words from past ClueBy puzzles, each with a real example sentence for every meaning. Use them as a reference, or make a printable worksheet below.

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Students read each sentence and write the missing word. Every word appears in several sentences, each time with a different meaning.

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Multiple-Meaning Words

Name: ____________________Date: __________

Write the missing word in each sentence. Each word is used more than once, with a different meaning each time.

  1. ________________ is common in the lakes of Sweden.
  2. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  3. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  4. Where did you ________________ them?
  5. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  6. The birds use the scarecrow as a ________________.
  7. I don't want to ________________ the boat.
  8. I am seized by an uncontrollable ________________ of sadness.
  9. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  10. Which do you like better, ________________ music or classical music?
  11. A lot of friends came to ________________ goodbye to me.
  12. Is that Pat Hanrahan's ________________ looking hungry and willing.
  13. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  14. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  15. The owl hooted softly from its ________________.
  16. He refilled his coffee ________________.
  17. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  18. We were using a ________________ as a seat.
  19. He was locked up in a ________________.
  20. The surfers were looking for the perfect ________________.
  21. I want a large ________________ of toothpaste.
  22. I need a new inner ________________ for my bike tire.
  23. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  24. I'll be taking the ________________.

Sentences from ClueBy, Tatoeba (CC BY 2.0 FR) and Common Voice (CC0). clueby.com

Answer key

  1. perch — the fish
  2. cell — in biology
  3. capital — money
  4. mug — to rob
  5. cell — a phone
  6. perch — for a bird
  7. rock — to move gently
  8. wave — a sudden rise
  9. degree — from a university
  10. rock — music
  11. wave — with your hand
  12. mug — a face
  13. capital — a big letter
  14. degree — an amount
  15. perch — for a bird
  16. mug — a cup
  17. degree — temperature
  18. rock — a stone
  19. cell — in a prison
  20. wave — of the sea
  21. tube — a container
  22. tube — in a tire
  23. capital — a city
  24. tube — the underground

Multiple-meaning words list

Tick up to 10 words to build a worksheet with just those words.

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Frequently asked questions

What are multiple-meaning words?

Words with the same spelling and pronunciation but more than one meaning, like bark (of a dog or of a tree) or bank (for money or of a river). You can only tell which meaning is meant from the rest of the sentence.

Are multiple-meaning words the same as homonyms?

Mostly, yes. Teachers often use "multiple-meaning words" and "homonyms" for the same idea. Homophones are different: they sound alike but are spelled differently, like flour and flower.

Are the worksheets free?

Yes. Make and print as many as you like for home or classroom use. Each sheet has its own link, so you can print the same one again.

Where do the words come from?

From past ClueBy puzzles, a daily game where you sort twelve sentences by their missing word. A new puzzle every day adds four more words to this list.

Sentences from ClueBy, Tatoeba (CC BY 2.0 FR) and Common Voice (CC0). clueby.com